


The Distance Between Us

by saltnhalo



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, COVID-19, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Love Confessions, M/M, Mutual Pining, Quarantine, Roommates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-19
Updated: 2020-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:40:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23208634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saltnhalo/pseuds/saltnhalo
Summary: When Castiel gets sick, Dean ends up quarantined with him in their apartment. Two weeks alone with his best friend shouldn't be problem, right?Or, it wouldn't be, if Dean weren't hopelessly, unrequitedly, in love with him.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Comments: 117
Kudos: 761





	The Distance Between Us

**Author's Note:**

  * For [captainhaterade](https://archiveofourown.org/users/captainhaterade/gifts).



> This fic is a gift for cap, who won one of my 2k tumblr follower prizes! They requested some kind of quarantine fic, and I couldn't be happier to oblige. I hope everyone is doing okay <3

It’s all fun and games and ‘social distancing’ jokes… until Cas starts coughing.

Dean tries to keep an eye on him while also working on the paper he has due next week, but by dinnertime, he’s running a fever. There’s a bad feeling in the pit of Dean’s stomach that doesn’t go away, especially not when Cas’s coughing keeps him up for part of the night, and so in the morning, they bundle him into Dean’s car, and take him to get tested.

_Positive._

_Two weeks of quarantine._

They’ve got their own small apartment, so it’s not like they’re putting a whole dorm of students at risk, but since they live in such close conditions, Dean doesn’t get a choice. He’s now a risk to the community, which means he gets the official job of looking after Cas.

So now it’s just Dean and Cas, stuck in a tiny shoebox of an apartment together for the next two weeks with no contact with anyone but each other. Which, honestly, wouldn’t be a problem.

Except for the fact that Dean has been in love with Cas since their freshman year of college.

Cool. Cool cool cool cool cool.

**Day 1**

Cas, when he’s sick, is always grumpy. Dean’s had to look after him enough times to know this, and so he’s more than prepared for the lump that ends up on their couch, half-buried under a pile of blankets and quietly bemoaning how cold he is.

“You want anything, Cas?” Dean asks as he makes lunch—chicken noodle soup, in the hopes of cheering them both up, with the limited supplies he’s managed to get delivered to their door.

There’s some unintelligible grumbling, and then a muttered, “Just leave me to die,” which Dean can’t help but snort at. _Dramatic fuck_.

“Alright, I’ll make you a bowl.”

**Day 2**

It doesn’t take long for Cas to start feeling better. He’s fit and strong (Dean is _well_ aware of those facts), and so it’s not long at all before he’s well enough to be up and moving around. He’s always still wrapped in a blanket or two, looking like a befuddled owl with how messy his hair has gotten, but at least he’s capable of communicating in more than grunts or complaints.

The times when Cas is sick or otherwise impaired are the only times that Dean can beat him at Mario kart, so he’s not ashamed to take full advantage of that fact, sweet-talking Cas into a few races and then soundly kicking his ass on Rainbow Road.

The way Cas glares at him from within his blanket cocoon, eyes squinted but lips curling up ever so slightly, melts Dean’s heart more than he’d ever care to admit. Cas knows exactly what he’s up to, but he tolerates Dean’s underhanded play, and even manages to claw back one or two victories.

God, they know each other too well.

It’s times like these, where there’s nowhere else to look but at _Cas_ , that shatter Dean’s heart just a little bit more each day.

**Day 4**

By the time they’re a few days into their quarantine, Cas is feeling much better. He’s taken over cooking from Dean, who’s definitely starting to feel more tired than he should after taking care of their chores. They knew that Dean would almost certainly catch it from Cas at some point, but it still catches him off guard when he feels suddenly breathless after cleaning up the kitchen.

Cas is still coughing, and says that his throat still hurts, but as soon as Dean mentions the onset of his own symptoms, Cas insists on taking over completely. He forces Dean to hang out on the couch while he finishes the kitchen—which, honestly, Dean is pretty fine with. He grabs out a book he’s been meaning to read for a while and stretches out beneath the blankets.

They still smell like Cas, and after a few pages, he finds his eyes wandering away from the words, towards the man with the birds-nest hair who’s humming quietly along to his music in the kitchen. Eventually, he gives up on the book and lets his gaze and mind wander.

When Cas finally catches him watching, he just smiles that small smile, tilts his head to the side and says;

“Rest, Dean. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

**Day 7**

Dean doesn’t get sick often, but when he does, it always feels like it’s kicking the crap out of him. Luckily, Cas is a great nurse—not in _that_ way, he forcefully reminds his mind when it wanders—and so Dean finds his every need catered for. Food, books, video games, whatever he could possibly need to wait out the infection and the quarantine.

Cas still isn’t totally symptom-free, though, so on the nights when they’re both feeling exhausted and sorry for themselves, they set themselves up on the couch with a block of chocolate between them and a classic movie playing on the TV.

Tonight, it’s _Back to the Future_ , and Cas has already eaten a third of the chocolate by himself, but Dean can’t bring himself to care. They’re both so tired that they don’t really mind where their limbs go, so Dean is slumped half-against Cas’s side, who’s sliding further down the couch as his eyes droop. The blankets piled around both of them form a cozy nest, Cas is solid and warm and smells like _Cas_ , and Dean honestly could not be happier.

He’s asleep before Marty gets home to 1985, and Cas follows not long after.

**Day 8**

They wake up on the couch, Dean’s head pillowed on Cas’s chest and the blankets wrapped so snugly around them that there’s no hope of subtle extrication. It’s so _nice_ , being this close to Cas and his warmth and the soap he uses, so for a little while, Dean guiltily lets himself enjoy it.

And then Cas stirs.

Dean feigns sleep, letting his breathing go deep and even while his heart hammers in his chest.

He knows Cas is awake, and he’s pretty sure Cas knows _he’s_ awake. But neither of them move. Neither of them say anything at all—just keep lying there, pressed close beneath the blankets, listening to the rhythm of each other’s breathing.

When something goes _thump_ on the floor above them, it’s the catalyst that makes them move. Dean can’t look Cas in the eye, and they pretend like nothing happened—even though, to Dean, _everything_ happened.

**Day 9**

They don’t talk about it.

**Day 12**

There are two days left until their isolation is over, and Dean is climbing the fucking walls.

He’s feeling almost completely better now, but with his renewed health and energy comes a renewed awareness of his situation, and the desperate need to put some distance between himself and Cas before he loses his fucking mind. He still doesn’t know what to make of the night they’d fallen asleep on the couch, or the way Cas is still acting a little bit weird around him. Maybe it’s just that he’s sick of Dean’s company—not that Dean could ever get sick of _Cas’s_ company, but then again, Cas doesn’t feel the same way towards him.

Whatever the case may be, though, Dean needs to get _out_ of their apartment as soon as he possibly fucking can. Being stuck here with Cas for so long… it’s amazing, but it also feels like his heart is being torn out of his chest, minute by minute, piece by piece.

He rakes his fingers through his hair, presses the heels of his hands against his eyes for a moment, then puts his hands back on the strings of his guitar and continues to play.

**Day 14**

Today is the last day.

The last day that he and Cas are stuck together, the last day that Dean has to spend every fucking minute looking at Cas, listening to Cas, achingly aware that Cas is always just another room over. Being in love with him had been slightly more bearable when they’d had work, or classes, or been catching up with other friends, but it’s so much harder when it’s just the two of them.

“How are you feeling?” Dean asks that evening, as they eat their final bowl of quarantine noodles. Cas has been quiet all day, withdrawn. He’s spent his time reading or writing in his journal or just staring quietly up at the ceiling, as though he’s a million miles away.

Dean is worried about him.

“I’m okay,” he says, shrugging one shoulder and giving Dean a smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “It’s going to be weird having our quarantine be over tomorrow, right?"

 _I’m in love with you_ , Dean thinks, _and I’m so scared of things changing, but I’m even more scared that they already have_.

“Yeah, so weird,” he says instead, and the metal bands around his chest get tighter.

After dinner, they put on some Netflix, but it’s more than clear that neither of them are really paying attention. In the end, Dean decides to just embrace the _off_ feeling and get it over with. After he goes to sleep, they’ll wake up and everything will be back to normal, right?

Except he can’t sleep.

He just stares up at the dark ceiling of his room, thinking about Cas, and freedom, and _tomorrow_ , as the clock ticks steadily closer to midnight.

In the end, he gets up again, hoping that getting himself a glass of water or something will reset him enough that he can actually sleep. But when he pushes open his bedroom door and pads into the kitchen on silent feet—

He hears Cas’s voice.

“—don’t know what to do, Anna. It’s been weird ever since, and I don’t want to make things awkward, but what if he doesn’t feel like that? I just want everything to go back to how it was before, but I… I don’t even know if that’s an option any more.”

Dean sucks in a sharp breath. Why is Cas reflecting that very same thoughts that have been on loop in Dean’s head ever since that morning on the couch?

He takes a few steps forward, over to where he can see into the living room, where the back of Cas’s head is haloed in dim lamplight. He has his phone pressed against his ear, and his hair is sticking up in every direction, like he’s been running his fingers through it. He’s stressed… but why?

“I know, Anna,” Cas sighs, leaning his head back against the couch. Dean holds his breath. “Trust me, I know. But there’s no way I can do that. ‘Hey, I know we’ve been quarantined together and everything is _just_ about to go back to normal, but also I’m in love with you and if I don’t say it I might explode.’ Because _that’s_ going to go down well.”

Everything in Dean’s brain seems to halt, stuck on those few words.

 _I’m in love with you_.

“Cas,” he chokes out, unable to think beyond anything other than those five words, because _holy shit_.

Cas’s head whips around, and the colour seems to drain from his face. He fumbles to hang up the call, then slowly stands, turning to face Dean.

For a few long moments, all they can do is stand there, the silence hanging thick and heavy between them with all the things half-said.

“How much did you hear?” Cas asks eventually, and his voice is flat but shaky.

“You’re in love with me?”

He needs to hear it again, just one more time. To make sure.

Cas’s eyes squeeze shut, and he inhales a shuddering breath, then exhales it.

“Yes, Dean. I am.”

Dean’s feet are moving before he even registers it, but he doesn’t care, because all he can think about is Cas. Cas’s eyes widen as Dean closes the distance between them, and Dean sees him brace himself—

And then Dean’s fingers curl into the front of his shirt, and he’s kissing Cas, just like he’s always imagined but never thought he’d actually get to do. It takes a moment for Cas to get over his shock and relax into Dean’s hands, but once he does…

It’s perfect.

**Day 15**

The next morning, they wake up in Cas’s bed, sunlight filtering past the half-closed curtains and Cas tucked up against Dean’s back.

Their quarantine may be over, but in so many ways, today is just the beginning.

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked this, please comment and/or kudos! <3
> 
> You can find me on tumblr [here](http://saltnhalo.tumblr.com), and subscribe to me on ao3 [here](https://archiveofourown.org/users/saltnhalo). Also, come join us at the [Profound Bond discord server](https://discord.gg/profoundbond), a home to Destiel fans from all walks of life <3


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